World Premiere
In a meaty follow-up to her memorable first feature Easy Land (VIFF 2019), Serbian-Canadian director Sanja Živković returns with a deeply moving family drama about a grandfather fighting for the custody of his newborn granddaughter, who is rejected by her young mother after she learns that the child is afflicted with a rare genetic disorder known as Cat’s Cry syndrome.
Based on true events that took place in the Serbian town of Karagujevac, Živković handles the subject with utmost care and respect, leaning on her sharp storytelling instincts and infusing the story with a nuanced reading of the cultural framework. She approaches the individual arcs with compassion and without judgment, making sure that each character is given emotional space and context, amplifying the film’s resonance and complexity. This is further strengthened by all-around compelling performances, featuring a cast of regional heavyweights like Jasmin Geljo and Marija Škaričić.
Oct 1 & 3: Q&A with director Sanja Živković; producer Vladimir Paskaljevic; and actor Jasmin Geljo
Presented by
Media Partner
Jasmin Geljo, Andrijana Đorđević, Sanja Mikitišin, Marija Škaričić, Denis Murić, Sergej Trifunović
Canada/Serbia/Croatia
2024
In Serbo-Croatian with English subtitles
Domestic violence
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Nevena Savić, Jelica Rosandić
Producer
Vladimir Paskaljević, Petar Paskaljević, Munire Armstrong, Irena Skorić
Screenwriter
Goran Paskaljević, Djordje Sibinović
Cinematography
Milica Drakulić
Editor
Radojka Vrabac
Production Design
Nevena Marković
Original Music
Dalibor Grubačević
Sanja Živković
Sanja Živković is a Serbian-Canadian filmmaker. Her first feature Easy Land premiered at TIFF 2019, screened at VIFF, FNC Montreal, Palm Springs, Goteborg, and Belgrade’s FEST. Select short films include Cleo (TIFF 2016), and Marijina Epizoda (Montreal World FF 2014), awarded in Belgrade and Sarajevo. She received a BFA from Simon Fraser University’s Film Program, her MFA in Directing from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, Belgrade, and completed the Canadian Film Centre Director’s Lab.
Filmography: Easy Land (2019)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
There's Still Tomorrow
A critical and box office sensation in Italy, Paola Cortellesi's triumphant directorial debut is the tale of a Roman housewife in 1946, who stands up against the routine sexist abuse she suffers. Funny, heartbreaking and inspiring.
The Way, My Way
All manner of pilgrims flock to France and Spain to walk the 800 km Camino de Santiago. One such is Bill, a stroppy sexagenarian Australian filmmaker who's determined to do the Camino with minimal prep, a dickey leg, and no firm idea why.
The Stand
This rousing doc explores a 1985 dispute over logging in the Haida Gwaii. Taking us from canny retrospective commentary to the thick of the action, director Chris Auchter employs animation and a wealth of archival footage to riveting effect.
Resident Orca
Captured in Puget Sound in 1970, killer whale Lolita spent the next half century in a cramped tank in Seaquarium, Miami. The film follows a coalition of Lummi elders, animal lovers and philanthropists on a rescue mission to return her to the ocean.
No Other Land
Deemed by many critics one of the essential films of 2024, a multiple festival award winner and Academy Award winner for Best Documentary, No Other Land is a reminder that mass expulsion is by no means a new reality for Palestinians.
Misericordia
Edgy, eccentric, and unapologetically queer, this film goes from drama to comedy without putting a foot wrong. Sex and murder are the subjects, and writer-director Alain Guiraudie (Stranger by the Lake) mines them for suspense and outrageous laughs.